What a great novel to start 2015 with! I hadn't read any of Josephine Angelini's books but had heard good things and this was another of the books I had been eyeing off for a while so I was extremely pleased to receive from my dad for Christmas and decided it would be my first read of 2015

I loved it and couldn't put it down. And when I did reluctantly have to put it down, I spent time thinking about the characters and the story and counting down to when I could get back to it.

Main character Lily Proctor has lived the majority of her life in Salem, sick with allergies to practically everything and when the boy she has been crushing on for most of her life leaves her heart broken, she allows her self to be spirited away to another universe,by herself no less, where she finds herself in a world filled with magic, where not only is she no longer sick but instead is incredibly powerful and her other universe counterpart is the most powerful being on the planet and hell bent on eradicating science from her world by any means possible.

I love stories about alternate universes, as I like to imagine worlds that may be similar but different based on certain decisions we make during our lives and decisions that have come before us. Ms Angelini's take on this is perfection, and really captures all that is magical about this concept.

I loved Lily as a character, I thought she was strong and passionate and I liked that I never really knew if i could trust her counterpart Lillian was alike but so very unlike Lily. I also liked the chemistry between Lily and Rowan. Right from moment they meet, the tension was there and you know there is something powerful in them being together. And Rowan is indeed a worthy book boyfriend. Also strong, loyal and passionate but at the same time both broken.

The story is well paced well written, with Ms Angelini revealing just enough at each interval to keep the reader right in the story but anxious to find out what will happen next and she builds the tension with ease of a master story teller catching the reader up in its wave which rolls along right to the end.I like that the story takes priority with the Lily and Rowan's relationship, whilst being integral, being more subtle and balanced and well placed.

Given where this novel finishes, I cannot wait for the next in the series and September 2015 cannot come fast enough!

I give this novel 4 1/2 stars.

Sapphired Dragon xx

About The Book:

The exhilaratingly seductive new series from the author of the bestselling Starcrossed series

Love burns. Worlds collide. Magic reigns.

This world is trying to kill Lily Proctor. Her life-threatening allergies keep her from enjoying many of the experiences that other teenagers take for granted...which is why she is determined to enjoy her first (and perhaps only) high-school party. But Lily's life never goes according to plan, and after a humiliating incident in front of half her graduating class Lily wishes she could just disappear.

Suddenly Lily is in a different Salem - one overrun with horrifying creatures and ruled by powerful women called Crucibles. Strongest and cruellest of all the Crucibles is Lillian . . . Lily's identical other self in this alternate universe. This new version of her world is terrifyingly sensual, and Lily is soon overwhelmed by new experiences.

Lily realizes that what makes her weak at home is exactly what makes her extraordinary in New Salem. It also puts her life in danger. Thrown into a world she doesn't understand, Lily is torn between responsibilities she can't hope to shoulder alone, and a love she never expected.

But how can Lily be the saviour of this world when she is literally her own worst enemy?